22 October 2013

Well, Dubai was never high on my list of cities to visit, but this has changed for sure, and I can't wait to visit again! There is so much to do and experience, and a 2 night stopover is simply not enough time to experience this dazzling city. Dubai offers a fascinating kaleidoscope of contrasts - a distinctive blend of modern city and timeless desert, east and west, old and new. A truly exotic destination, with a cosmopolitan lifestyle, but still with its unique charm and hospitality of Arabia. Some of the must do's and must visits in Dubai: * Burj Khalifa - The tallest tower in the world at 828 metres. My top tip to avoid disappointment be sure to pre-book your ticket to visit the observation deck on the 124th floor. * A visit to the Souks in Deira – I recommended doing this at night as it's much cooler. Here you can find anything from coffee beans and spices to clothes and camel leather shoes. Bargain, Bargain!! * Dune bashing - what a treat! It definitely gets the adrenaline running. You can end this off with dinner in the dunes and complete with Belly dancers. * Ski Dubai which is located in Mall of the Emirates! * Yas Marina & Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi – this is about an hour's drive from Dubai * Dinner cruise on the creek - You can do either the very traditional Dhow Cruise or the more upmarket Bateaux Dubai. My suggestion would be the latter. * Wild Wadi at Jumeira Beach Hotel or a visit to Aquaventure at Altantis The Palm - Be sure to take The Leap of Faith. This slide will have you falling over 9 stories in a mere second before you find yourself speeding through a clear acrylic tube surrounded by sharks and rays! * Dubai is a shopper’s paradise, be sure to visit Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and one of my favourites, Ibn Battuta mall. For a unique experience, take a trip to Karama. Here you will find many shops that sell “genuine fakes”. Again be sure to bargain! Except for a brief period during summer, Dubai's temperature and humidity are comfortable. Temperatures range from a low of 10 degrees Celsius to a high of 48. The hottest months are July / August, and travel is not highly recommended during these months. Lightweight clothing is recommended and lots of sunscreen. Emirates offer 2 daily direct flights from Cape Town. The flight time is approximately 10 hours. EK 773 departs at 13h30 - operated by the Boeing 777-300ER and EK 771 departs at 17h55 - operated by the A340-500 (not the new airbus). For business class passengers I recommend the Boeing 777-300 as the Airbus 340-500 do not have flat beds. They have an award winning entertainment system which will keep you busy throughout the flight. Regarding Foreign Exchange, my recommendation will be to change money once you arrive in Dubai; you get a much better deal than doing it in South Africa. My hotel recommendations: * 5 Star JW Marriott Marquis, which is located in Business Bay, Dubai. This is currently the world's tallest hotel – This hotel is recommended for business travellers and is close to Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. The hotel has various restaurants and bars. The Vault being one of the nicest and offers the best view! The below hotels are located in the Jumeirah / Marina area - my favourite area * Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort. * Le Meridien Mina Seyahi & Westin Mina Seyhai, these two hotels are located next to each other and when staying at either of the hotels, the facilities of both can be used. Be sure to visit the World Famous Barasti Bar at the Westin Mina Seyahi Hotel. * The Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Hotel & Residences. For those that like to enjoy a glass of wine, you can easily pay up to 80 Dirham for a glass of wine, so it's recommended to travel with some wine – you are allowed up to 2 litres. Ladies take advantage of the ladies nights at various bars and hotels, normally on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, where from 7 – 10 pm you don’t pay for any drinks. If you want a unique experience, check with your hotel if they offer the famous brunch on Fridays. If you require any further information on Dubai, or would like to plan your trip to Dubai, feel free to contact me.

08 June 2009

The “Big Apple”. What more can I say? This was a dream come true for me. Manhattan with its many tall buildings is quite overwhelming. You can’t help to stop and stare at the buildings. It almost feels as if the buildings are closing in on you. It is such a busy and vibrant city, with yellow cabs everywhere, people rushing from one place to another, street performers, limousines, busy street side café’s, and at night lots of lights everywhere with the faded sound of Jazz and Blues in the air. Unfortunately I was only there for 1 day and 1 night. I tried to see as much as possible visiting Ground Zero, Wall Street, strolling the “oh so” expensive 5th Avenue, Broadway, and of course Central Park. You cannot believe that you are in one of the busiest cities of the world. It is so peaceful and beautiful in Central Park. I also went to see where John Lennon was shot. Broadway comes to life at night with theatres everywhere and restaurants. Meals are quite expensive, but the portions are so huge, you might as well share. Manhattan has got so much to offer, it’s not called the “City that never sleeps” for nothing. The next day we boarded the Norwegian Dawn of NCL cruise lines. Another amazing experience was leaving the harbour of New York, passing the Statue of Liberty with the sun setting in the distance. Absolutely breathtaking! We had 7 nights of absolute bliss ahead of us. Cruising in itself is such a great experience. You pack and unpack once and then you can just sit back and relax and see a different port of call almost every day. There are many different shows and activities onboard and so much to eat. The food is never ending, breakfast, late morning barbeque, then lunch, late afternoon snacks, dinner and finally midnight buffet!! Luckily there was a gym and running track onboard the ship to burn off some of those extra kilos. Our first port of call was Orlando. We docked at Port Canaveral and were transferred to Orlando. Again we were just there for 1 day, so for me it wasn’t worth going to Disney, as there was too much to see and do to make it worthwhile. I instead, visited Universal Studios. Our next stop was Miami. To me Miami is such a beautiful and clean city. On the way from the port to Miami beachfront you pass canals with huge houses and yachts parked in front of the houses, which leaves you wondering which celebrity owns which mansions. South Beach is definitely an Art Deco! As we set sail from Miami, we were entering the Caribbean. Sunshine, lots of it and at night warm breezes with Caribbean bands bringing the night to life under the stars. We visited NCL’s private island in the Bahamas, Great Stirrup Cay. This island is an unspoiled paradise of white sand beaches, majestic coconut palms and calm pristine waters where an abundance of colourful marine life inhabits the surrounding coral reefs. It is home to lizards, seagulls, and neon-collared fish and... A few very fortunate guests of NCL. Here you can snooze in a hammock under a shady palm tree or learn to snorkel in a peaceful cove where tropical fish weave around equally colourful coral and sea fans. You can dance the limbo and enjoy a beachside barbecue, or circle the island in a kayak or sailboat. This is the life on NCL's Great Stirrup Cay. Our last stop was Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Lots of cruise ships dock here daily and sea planes taking off and landing throughout the day. I visited Sol Kerzner’s Atlantis Resort & Casino. It is absolutely amazing! Thereafter I took a tour of Nassau with a local guide. Nassau made history which has been preserved nicely in Victorian mansions displaying elegant noble architecture, cathedrals, weather-beaten 18th-century forts and a hand-carved Queen's Staircase, whose 66 steps lead to a view of the island not to be missed. You have to visit one of their local shops and try their Bahamas Goombay Punch. Vacationers know Nassau as a vacation playground of fine white-sandy beaches and exciting nightlife. Natives know their city as a friendly little place where you pretty much know everyone, where the local spelling bee winner still makes the Nassau Bahamas newspaper front page. Leaving the Caribbean behind us returned to New York City for our flight home.

08 June 2009

While living in London, we decided to travel to Mexico. At first I wasn’t too keen on visiting Mexico. Because of the movies I saw on TV, I thought Mexico was too dangerous to travel to. Lots of gangs and shooting!!! Everything changed when we arrived in Mexico. We had nothing planned. We arrived with a backpack each on our backs, got a taxi and were off to find accommodation for the night. We woke up the next morning and just wanted to get a coffee. They only give you black coffee unless you ask for milk. We didn’t know any Spanish (yet) and the waiter didn’t understand English, so we ended up making noises like a cow for them to understand us. We finally got our coffee with milk, called “café con leche”. Mexico City is a beautiful city, there is old and new to explore and is perfectly safe if you stick to the tourist areas. After spending about 3 nights in Mexico City, we took a bus to Acapulco on the West Coast of Mexico. We again arrived at night and took a taxi from the bus terminal to the Acapulco beachfront. This time we wanted to spoil ourselves with a beachfront hotel. The next morning we were up bright and early to go and explore this vibrant city. When I walked out of the hotel I almost fainted. They don’t call it “Acapulco Heat” for nothing!! We headed up the west coast to a small town called Zihuatanejo. Zihuatanejo is the dream "getaway" talked about in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". This is an old World Mexican fishing village nestled around a small bay dotted with beautiful protected beaches and no high rises. We had such a great time here. Further up the west coast, we visited Manzanillo, also great beaches with huge waves and good markets. Our next stop was Puerto Vallarta. They say that paradise is a state of mind. When all of the ingredients are of the highest quality, it can also be a place. Puerto Vallarta qualifies for this high distinction. We headed cross country (by bus) to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city. This city is the ultimate fusion of the past and present. Guadalajara is the capital of the Jalisco State and the birthplace of tequila. Now I can’t drink tequila, but in Mexico it is so smooth, and you get so many different varieties. It’s definitely not the same as what we have here in SA, so an absolute must! This city is great for everyone in the family. From Guadalajara we took a bus to the Yucatan Peninsula, visiting Veracruz on the way. I was so excited to be going to Cancun as I’ve heard so many great things about it. We arrived in Cancun and I was not too impressed. I found Cancun a bit too commercialised. I wanted to experience the Mexican Caribbean in a true Mexican village. We chatted to a few locals and they suggested we take a ferry (about 20 minutes) across to Isla Mujeres (called Island of Woman). This is where you will find long stretches of perfect white, silky smooth beaches, with crystal clear turquoise water and swaying palm trees. You can hire scooters and explore the island easily within a day. There are many accommodation options (much cheaper than Cancun), including beach cabanas. At night the centre of Isla Mujeres is very lively and bustling with bars and restaurants. We found our favourite eating spot, which was actually one of the local’s houses that they open up at night for you to come and enjoy true local Mexican cuisine. Yum!! From Isla Mujeres we took a local bus (no aircon, filled with local Mexicans and their sombreros, making music on their “vihuelas”) to Tulum. Here we stayed in a beach hut, situated on a secluded beach. Just imagine, the sea sand as your carpet, hooks for your hammock and electricity until 10pm, that was what the beach hut consisted of, but wow, was that an experience! All you hear is the waves and the swaying palm trees with the crystal clear water about 60 meters away from our hut. Tulum is famous for its Mayan ruins. After 2 months of backpacking, our Mexican journey sadly came to an end. Mexico is truly a place of great people, great food and great beauty and it has so much to offer and so much to experience.